Adjacent Words

Barb definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

B'ARB, n. [L.barba; This is beard, with a different ending. The sense may be, that which shoots out.]
1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it; as the barb of a fish, the smaller claws of the polypus,etc.
2. The down, or pubes, covering the surface of some plants; or rather, a tuft or bunch of strong hairs terminating leaves.
3. Anciently, armor for horses; formerly, barbe or barde.
4. A common name of the barbary pigeon, a bird of a black or dun color.
5. A horse from Barbary, of which it seems to be a contraction.
6. The points that stand backward in an arrow, fish-hook or other instrument for piercing, intended to prevent its being extracted.
7. In botany, a straight process armed with teeth pointing backward like the sting of a bee. This is one sort of pubescence.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect; "his parting shot was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes a dig at me every chance she gets" [syn: shot, shaft, slam, dig, barb, jibe, gibe]
2: the pointed part of barbed wire
3: a subsidiary point facing opposite from the main point that makes an arrowhead or spear hard to remove
4: one of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather v
1: provide with barbs; "barbed wire"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English barbe barb, beard, from Anglo-French, from Latin barba — more at beard Date: 14th century 1. a medieval cloth headdress passing over or under the chin and covering the neck 2. a. a sharp projection extending backward (as from the point of an arrow or fishhook) and preventing easy extraction; also a sharp projection with its point similarly oblique to something else b. a biting or pointedly critical remark or comment 3. barbel II 4. any of the side branches of the shaft of a feather — see feather illustration 5. a plant hair or bristle ending in a hook • barbless adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1759 to furnish with a barb III. noun Etymology: French barbe, from Italian barbero, from barbero of Barbary, from Barberia Barbary, coastal region in Africa Date: 1636 any of a northern African breed of horses that are noted for speed and endurance IV. noun Date: 1967 slang barbiturate

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a secondary backward-facing projection from an arrow, fish-hook, etc., angled to make extraction difficult. 2 a deliberately hurtful remark. 3 a beardlike filament at the mouth of some fish, e.g. barbel and catfish. 4 any one of the fine hairlike filaments growing from the shaft of a feather, forming the vane. --v.tr. 1 provide (an arrow, a fish-hook, etc.) with a barb or barbs. 2 (as barbed adj.) (of a remark etc.) deliberately hurtful. Phrases and idioms: barbed wire wire bearing sharp pointed spikes close together and used in fencing, or in warfare as an obstruction. Etymology: ME f. OF barbe f. L barba beard

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Kingfish King"fish`, n. (Zo["o]l.) (a) An American marine food fish of the genus Menticirrus, especially M. saxatilis, or M. nebulosos, of the Atlantic coast; -- called also whiting, surf whiting, and barb. (b) The opah. (c) The common cero; also, the spotted cero. See Cero. (d) The queenfish.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Barb Barb, n. [F. barbe, fr. L. barba beard. See Beard, n.] 1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it. The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth. --Walton. 2. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. [Obs.] 3. pl. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.] 4. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. ``Having two barbs or points.'' --Ascham. 5. A bit for a horse. [Obs.] --Spenser. 6. (Zo["o]l.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather. 7. (Zo["o]l.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called whiting. 8. (Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Barb Barb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Barbing.] 1. To shave or dress the beard of. [Obs.] 2. To clip; to mow. [Obs.] --Marston. 3. To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc. But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Barb Barb, n. [F. barbe, fr. Barbarie.] 1. The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Barb Barb, n. [Corrupted fr. bard.] Armor for a horse. Same as 2d Bard, n., 1.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(barbs) 1. A barb is a sharp curved point near the end of an arrow or fish-hook which makes it difficult to pull out. N-COUNT 2. A barb is an unkind remark meant as a criticism of someone or something. The barb stung her exactly the way he hoped it would. = gibe N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Beard (or excrescences like a beard), wattles. 2. Guard (of a hook, etc.), beard, point, guarded or bearded point. 3. Horse (of the Barbary breed). II. v. a. Point, fit with barbs, beard. III. n. See barbe

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